Acombination drug therapy that inhibits the TORC1 pathway involved in immune responses boosted the health of people 65 years and older, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine yesterday (July 11).
After a year, the researchers found that subjects who received the combination therapy showed a 40 percent reduction in colds and respiratory infections. Additionally, the drugs augmented the body’s response to a flu vaccine by producing 20 percent more antibodies against the influenza virus.
“Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the results is that the protection lasted for the duration of the study, namely a year, even though the drug was only given for the first six weeks,” Aubrey de Grey, who studies aging at the SENS Research Foundation and was not involved in the study, tells WBUR.